SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday after deepening worries that a Congressional gridlock would lead to a U.S. debt default overshadowed some positive economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 62.44 points, or 0.5%, to 12,240.11, with Exxon Mobil Corp. - 2.22% weighing the most after the oil giant's quarterly profits were curtailed by low natural-gas prices.
It was the Dow's fifth straight session of losses.
The S&P 500 lost 4.22 points, or 0.3%, to 1,300.67.
The Nasdaq Composite ended up 1.46 points, or 0.1%, to 2,766.25.
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve would have to begin to exit from its ultra-low monetary policy if inflation accelerates, said Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker on Thursday. "If inflation risks materialize, I think we would need to respond by initiating exit even if growth remained disappointing," Lacker told reporters following a speech. Lacker said the consensus is for the economy to rebound in the second half of the year and for inflation to trend down to around 2%. Lacker said he was pretty comfortable with the inflation outlook now but that there was an upside risk to the inflation outlook. "There is going to be a risk of a step-up in inflation trends. We have seen that over the last nine months. Whether that is finished playing out or not, we don't have the data yet," he said. "I am hoping and expecting inflation to stabilize at around a 2% trend but there is the risk that it would continue to accelerate," he said. Lacker said he was comfortable with the current stance of policy but added that "I think we are going to have to watch carefully."
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A federal default "must" be avoided even as the costs of not bringing budget deficits under control are "enormous," San Francisco Fed President John Williams said at a speech in Salt Lake City, according to a transcript of his remarks. "I need to stress, even as the nation must come to terms with its fiscal problems, a federal default must be avoided. Make no mistake - the Federal Reserve doesn't have a magic wand that will allow the economy to get through a crisis of this magnitude unscathed," he said. The Fed may keep or increase stimulus if the recovery stalls and inflation remains low, but if growth picks up and inflation doesn't fall too low, then the Fed will need to start gradually removing stimulus, he added. Williams, who becomes a voting Federal Open Market Committee member next year, expects GDP growth will grow a bit faster than 3% in the second half of 2011 and in 2012, and the unemployment rate will edge down to about 9% by the end of this year and to 8.25% next year. He expects inflation to subside.
Wall Street cierra en baja antes de la votación por deuda
Las acciones estadounidenses se fueron apagando durante la tarde del jueves y cerraron mayormente en baja, ante el escepticismo de los inversores respecto a una votación en el Congreso que buscará evitar que Estados Unidos se declare en suspensión de pagos. El promedio Dow Jones industrial perdió 61,45 puntos, o un 0,50%, para cerrar extraoficialmente a 12.241,10, mientras que el índice Standard & Poors 500 cayó 4,11 puntos, o un 0.31%, y terminó en 1.300,78. En tanto, el índice Nasdaq Composite ganó 1,46 puntos, o un 0,05%, para cerrar extraoficialmente a 2.766,25 unidades.
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--La totalidad de los legisladores demócratas e independientes del Senado de Estados Unidos dijeron tarde el miércoles que se opondrían a la propuesta para elevar el límite de deuda respaldada por el presidente de la cámara baja, John Boehner, republicano por Ohio, con lo que aseguran que el proyecto sea rechazado en el Senado.
En una carta enviada a Boehner el miércoles, los 51 senadores demócratas y los dos senadores independientes señalaron que se opondrían a la propuesta respaldada por los republicanos para elevar el límite de deuda en dos pasos. Se espera que la cámara baja vote la medida el jueves.
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Los demócratas rechazan el proyecto de ley de Boehner debido a que indican que el límite de deuda tendría que aumentarse dos veces antes de fines de 2012.
"Nos preocupa que dentro de cinco o seis meses, la cámara baja vuelva a tener a la economía cautiva y se niegue a evitar otro incumplimiento a menos que accedamos a aceptar desequilibrados recortes profundos a programas como Medicare y Social Security, sin pedir nada a los estadounidenses más adinerados", escribieron los senadores.
El proyecto de ley de Boehner necesitaría 60 votos para ser aprobado en el Senado.
El miércoles por la tarde, la oficina de presupuesto del Congreso indicó que una versión recién revisada del proyecto de ley de Boehner reduciría el déficit fiscal en US$917.000 millones durante los próximos 10 años.
Funcionarios del Tesoro de Estados Unidos han señalado que el Congreso debe elevar el límite de deuda del país antes del plazo del 2 de agosto para evitar que el gobierno incumpla su deuda.
Democratic House Whip tells lawmakers that debt vote has been "postponed." GOP aide confirmed and said it would take place later Thursday evening.
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